Many jobs the state government claims it’s creating don’t actually exist, according to The Toledo Blade.
The Ohio Development Services Agency claims it improved its process for
tracking the effects of taxpayer-financed loans, grants and subsidies,
but The Blade found errors led to more than 11,000 claimed jobs
that likely don’t exist. Part of the problem is that the state relies on
companies to self-report job numbers; although the Ohio Development
Services Agency is supposed to authenticate the reports, officials
almost never visit businesses that get tax incentives. The discrepancy
between claimed job creation and reality raises more questions about the
efforts of JobsOhio, the privatized development agency established by Gov. John Kasich and Republican legislators that recommends
many of the tax subsidies going to Ohio businesses. CityBeat covered JobsOhio in further detail here.
Mayoral candidate John Cranley didn’t repay a $75,000 loan
for his Incline Village Project in East Price Hill that was meant to go
to a medical office and 77 apartments that never came to fruition. Kathy Schwab of Local Initiatives Support
Corporation (LISC), which loaned the money to Cranley’s former
development company, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that they
worked out terms to repay the loan after the news broke yesterday.
Supporters of Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls’ mayoral campaign say the news
casts doubt on whether Cranley is as fiscally responsible as he’s led on
while stumping on the campaign trail. As The Enquirer notes,
Cranley is very proud of the Incline Project and often touts it to show
off his experience building a successful project in the private sector.Hamilton County commissioners are expected to vote on a budget
on Nov. 6. This year’s budget is the first time in six years that the
county won’t need to make major cuts to close a gap. But the
commissioners also told WVXU that it’s unlikely they’ll take up the
county coroner’s plan for a new crime lab, which county officials say is a dire need.
A lawsuit filed on Oct. 23 asks the Hamilton County Court of Appeals to compel the Hamilton County Board of Elections to scrub UrbanCincy.com owner Randy Simes off the voter rolls,
less than two weeks after the board of elections ruled Simes is
eligible to vote in Cincinnati. The case has been mired in politics
since it was first filed to the board of elections. Simes’ supporters
claim the legal actions are meant to suppress Simes’ support for the
streetcar project and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls’ mayoral campaign.
Proponents of the lawsuit, who are backed by the attorney that regularly
supports the anti-streetcar, anti-Qualls Coalition Opposed to
Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), argue they’re just trying to
uphold the integrity of voting. The dispute hinges on whether Simes’
registered residence for voting — a condo owned by his friend and business
colleague, Travis Estell — is a place where he truly lived or just
visited throughout 2013. Currently, no hearing or judge is set for the
lawsuit.
Pure Romance officially signed a lease for new headquarters in downtown Cincinnati,
which means the $100-million-plus company is now set to move from its
Loveland, Ohio, location starting in January 2014. Pure Romance
originally considered moving to Kentucky after Ohio reneged on a tax
deal, but council ultimately upped its offer to bring the company to
Cincinnati. As part of its deal with the city, Pure Romance will get $854,000 in tax breaks over the next 10 years,
but it will need to stay in Cincinnati for 20 years. The city
administration estimates the deal will generate $2.6 million in net tax
revenue over two decades and at least 126 high-paying jobs over three
years.
One in six Ohioans lived in poverty in 2012, putting the state poverty rate above pre-recession levels, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Two Butler County students were arrested yesterday after they allegedly threatened to go on a shooting spree on Facebook.
Rachel Maddow accused Ky. Sen. Rand Paul of plagiarizing his speech off Wikipedia.
The Taste of Belgium’s next location: Rookwood Exchange.
Pollinating bees could deliver pesticides in the future.
Early voting is now underway. Find your voting location here. Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended. Check out CityBeat’s coverage and endorsements for the 2013 election here.
Follow CityBeat on Twitter:• Main: @CityBeatCincy• News: @CityBeat_News• Music: @CityBeatMusic• German Lopez: @germanrlopez

A Republican-proposed bill in the Ohio legislature is drawing criticism from voting rights advocates
because they say it would unnecessarily limit absentee voting. The bill
would permit the secretary of state to send out absentee-ballot
applications on even years, when gubernatorial and presidential
elections are held, only if the legislature funds the mailings, and it
would prevent county election boards from mailing out additional ballot
applications beyond what the state sends out. Previously, some counties
mailed unsolicited ballot applications to all voters to potentially
reduce lines on Election Day. Voting rights advocates say the bill will
dampen and reduce voter participation, but State Sen. Bill Coley, the bill’s sponsor, argues
it’s necessary to bring uniformity to county-by-county absentee voting.
A nine-member panel of criminal justice officials on Friday recommended limiting access and improving oversight
of Ohio’s controversial facial recognition program, following a
two-month review of the system and public criticisms over the program’s
secrecy and alleged lack of oversight. The facial recognition program,
which is part of a state database of criminal justice records known as
the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG), was live for more than two
months and 2,677 searches before Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
formally announced its existence in August. The program allows police
officers and civilian employees to use a photo to search databases for
names and contact information; previously, law enforcement officials
needed a name or address to search such databases.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Ky. Gov. Steve Beshear debated Obamacare on Sunday’s Meet the Press. Beshear pointed to his state’s successful rollout of Kynect,
a Kentucky-operated online marketplace for state-based health insurance
plans. The Kentucky marketplace has already enrolled 26,000
Kentuckians, although 21,000 are Medicaid enrollees. Meanwhile, Kasich
criticized the rocky launch of the federal portal HealthCare.gov, which only applies to states, like Ohio, that declined to run their own online marketplaces. The federal portal has been practically unworkable
for a huge majority of Americans since it launched on Oct. 1. Kasich
also claimed Obamacare will increase health insurance costs in Ohio — a
claim that goes against
findings in a national premium model developed by Avik Roy, a
conservative health care expert who is typically critical of Obamacare. CityBeat covered Obamacare’s Ohio rollout in further detail here.
Councilwoman Yvette Simpson is questioning why WCPO used a man named Jim Kiefer as a source
after he posted racist insults aimed at her on social media. WCPO
quoted Kiefer in a story as a John Cranley supporter, but the Cranley
campaign quickly distanced itself from Kiefer upon learning of his
history of bigoted posts on his Facebook wall, which was public at the
time but is now private. Kiefer told CityBeat the posts were supposed to be jokes.
The ongoing mayoral race looks like the most expensive since Cincinnati began directly electing its mayors in 2001.
City Council could move forward with a plan next month to reduce the noise freight trains make overnight.
Emma and William were the most popular names in Cincinnati in 2012.
Ohio gas prices dipped this week after two straight weeks of increases.
The furthest confirmed galaxy shows off light from just 700 million years after the Big Bang.
Early voting is now underway. Find your voting location here. Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended. Check out CityBeat’s coverage and endorsements for the 2013 election here.
Follow CityBeat on Twitter:• Main: @CityBeatCincy• News: @CityBeat_News• Music: @CityBeatMusic• German Lopez: @germanrlopez

Few local contributions to Issue 4, private prison mired in violence, Ohio could limit voting

Issue 4, the ballot initiative that would semi-privatize Cincinnati’s pension system, obtained most of its financial support from out-of-town tea party groups,
according to financial disclosure forms filed to the Hamilton County
Board of Elections on Oct. 24. Of the more than $231,000 raised for Issue 4 by
Cincinnati for Pension Reform, $229,500 came from groups in
West Chester, Ohio, and Virginia. Chris Littleton, a leading consultant
for Issue 4 and a long-time tea party activist involved in a few of the
listed groups, is also based in West Chester. City leaders unanimously
oppose Issue 4 because they argue it would force the city to cut
services and city employees’ retirement benefits — two claims that have
been backed by studies on Issue 4. Supporters say Issue 4 is necessary
to help fix the pension system’s $862 unfunded liability. Vice Mayor
Roxanne Qualls previously told CityBeat that City Council will take up
further reforms to address the unfunded liability after the election,
assuming voters reject Issue 4 on Nov. 5.
A re-inspection of the privatized Lake Erie Correctional
Institution (LECI) found that, while the private prison has made some
improvements in rehabilitation, health services and staffing, it remains
on pace in 2013 to match the previous year’s increased levels of violence.
Various state reports found the facility quickly deteriorated after it
became the first state prison to be sold to a private company,
Corrections Corporation of America, in 2011, under the urging of Gov.
John Kasich. In particular, inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff
assaults rapidly rose between 2010 and 2012 and appear to remain at
similar increased levels in 2013, according to an audit conducted on
Sept. 9 and 10 by Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, Ohio’s
independent prison watchdog. CityBeat previously covered the deteriorating conditions at LECI in further detail here.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted advocated trimming the amount of early voting days
in a letter to the state legislature yesterday. Husted says he wants
the rules passed to establish uniformity across all Ohio counties. But
Democrats — including State Sen. Nina Turner, who is set to run against
Husted in 2014 for secretary of state — say the measures attempt to
limit voting opportunities and suppress voters. In 2012, Doug Preisse,
close adviser to Gov. Kasich and chairman of the Franklin County
Republican Party, explained similar measures that limit early voting in
an email to The Columbus Dispatch: “I guess I really actually
feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban —
read African-American — voter-turnout machine.” Husted’s suggestions
also included measures that would allow online voter registration and
limit ballot access for candidates in minor political parties.
A Hamilton County judge yesterday dismissed another legal challenge
against the city’s parking plan, but the conservative group behind the legal dispute
plans to appeal. The plan would lease Cincinnati’s parking meters, lots
and garages to the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority, which would then
use private operators to manage the assets. Supporters say the lease is
necessary to leverage the city’s parking assets for an $85 million
upfront payment that would help pay for development projects. Opponents argue
it gives up too much control over the city’s parking assets to private
entities.
Several Medicaid overhaul bills began moving in the Ohio House
yesterday, following months of work and promises from Republican
legislators. The bills increase penalties for defrauding the state,
require the Department of Medicaid to implement reforms that seek to
improve outcomes and emphasize personal responsibility, and make
specific tweaks on minors obtaining prescriptions, hospitals reporting
of neonatal abstinence syndrome, behavioral health services and other
smaller categories. The overhaul bills follow Gov. Kasich’s decision to bypass the Ohio legislature
and expand Medicaid eligibility for at least two years with federal
funds approved by the Controlling Board, an obscure seven-member legislative
panel.
Ohio’s controversial facial-recognition program can be used by some federal and out-of-state officials, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The program allows police officers and civilian employees to use a
photo to search state databases for names and contact information; previously,
law enforcement officials needed a name or address to search such
databases. Shortly after the program was revealed, Gov. Kasich compared it to privacy-breaching national intelligence agencies.
Ohio students aren’t as good at math and science as students in China, Japan, Korea and Singapore, among other countries.
A bipartisan “open container” bill would allow cities, including Cincinnati, to legalize drinking alcohol in the streets. In the case of Cincinnati, the city could allow public drinking in up to two districts if the bill passed.
Supporters of the bill say it would boost economic activity in certain
areas, but some are concerned the bill will enable “trash and
rowdiness.”
Cincinnati leads the way on Twitter.
Vitamin B2, which is commonly found in cottage cheese, green veggies and meat, could be used to 3-D print medical implants.
Early voting is now underway. Find your voting location here. Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended. Check out CityBeat’s coverage and endorsements for the 2013 election here.
On Oct. 29, local residents will be able to give feedback
to Cincinnati officials about the city budget — and also nab some free
pizza. The open budgeting event is from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 29
at 1115 Bates Ave., Cincinnati.
Follow CityBeat on Twitter:• Main: @CityBeatCincy• News: @CityBeat_News• Music: @CityBeatMusic• German Lopez: @germanrlopez

New audit of Lake Erie facility finds improvements, but some problems linger

A re-inspection of the privatized Lake Erie Correctional
Institution (LECI) found the prison is “heading in a positive
direction,” but the facility is still on pace in 2013 to maintain
increased levels of violence similar to
the year before, according to the report.
In 2011, LECI became the first state prison in the country to be
sold to a private company after Ohio, under the urging of Gov. John
Kasich, sold the facility to Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) as a cost-cutting measure.
Since then, multiple inspections found deteriorating health and safety
conditions that anti-privatization critics warned of prior to the sale.
The audit, published on Oct. 8 but conducted on Sept. 9 and 10, comes from the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC), Ohio’s independent prison watchdog. The inspection was announced beforehand, unlike the unannounced audit on Jan.
22 that found a sharp rise in violence and various health problems. In other words,
CCA had time to prepare for the latest inspection but not the one
conducted earlier in the year, which could explain some of the mixed improvements.
“The CIIC inspection team’s overall sense is that
conditions have improved,” the report claimed. “CCA has poured
significant resources into the prison, including removing or changing
staff, hiring on former (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Correction) staff, investing in additional security measures, and
bringing in outside consultants.”
But for all the improvements, CIIC found issues of safety,
security and inmate discipline linger: “Although improved slightly, the
percentage of inmates reporting that they feel unsafe or very unsafe is
still high.”CIIC found inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff assaults
remain on track to match 2012’s higher levels of violence. The previous
CIIC audit found inmate-on-inmate violence had increased by 188 percent
and inmate-on-staff violence had increased by more than 300 percent
between 2010 and 2012.
Staff reportedly told inspectors that there was
“significant progress” in rates of violence throughout
2013, but the provided statistics for the year don’t reflect an improvement.
In some areas, conditions measurably worsened: CIIC
reported that a “significantly higher percentage of inmates” tested
positive for illegal substances in the first eight months of 2013
compared to the same time span in 2012.
Disciplinary actions and use of force were noted concerns
for CIIC, even though LECI staff apparently made strides to exert
more control over the inmate population. The prison also has more
serious misconduct than similar minimum- and medium-security facilities.CIIC didn’t formally inspect medical services and
recreational facilities, but inspectors received various complaints from
inmates in both areas. The amount of inmate grievances against staff
actions also remain higher than the years before CCA took over the
facility, although CIIC found slight improvement.
Still, the report repeatedly praised CCA for its
improvements, particularly in rehabilitation and reentry services, better performance of rounds and shakedowns,
and stronger health services and records. One
example: CIIC found inmates are receiving 47.9 percent more GED
diplomas, which certify a high school-level education, than they did in 2011, putting
LECI’s GED achievement level at the average for similar
prisons.
Staffing issues also improved, although the staff turnover
rate remains above the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
average and security officers reported poor morale because of low wages.
For some critics of privatization, the poor conditions come as no surprise.
Before CCA bought LECI, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio
repeatedly warned that the for-profit incentive encourages private
prison companies to cut services, security and staff while maintaining
as many prisoners as possible, since the prison’s pay is based on how
many inmates it holds.
CityBeat previously reported on the deteriorating
conditions at LECI after inmates’ insider accounts, requested public records
and numerous state reports found increasing violence and health concerns
(“From the Inside,” issue of May 29).
The full CIIC audit:

Good Jobs First says privatized agencies create scandals, not jobs

JobsOhio and other privatized development agencies have created scandals and potential conflicts of interests
instead of jobs, claims an Oct. 23 report from Good Jobs First, a
research center founded in 1998 that scrutinizes deals between
businesses and governments.
The report looked at privatized development agencies in
seven states, including Ohio, and found that many of the same problems
and scandals appear from state to state.
“These experiments in privatization have, by and large,
become costly failures,” the report found. “Privatized development
corporations have issued grossly exaggerated job-creation claims. They
have created ‘pay to play’ appearances of insider dealing and conflicts
of interest. They have paid executives larger salaries than governors.
They have resisted basic oversight.”
The report focuses much of its findings on JobsOhio, a
privatized development agency that Gov. John Kasich and Republican
legislators established in 2011 to replace the Ohio Department of
Development. The agency uses tax subsidies and other financial
incentives to attract companies to Ohio with the intention of creating jobs.
But the report states JobsOhio “assembled a board of
directors whose members included some of (Kasich’s) major campaign
contributors and executives from companies that were recipients of large
state development subsidies. It received a large transfer of state
monies about which the legislature was not informed, intermingled public
and private monies, refused to name its private donors, and then won
legal exemption (advocated by Gov. Kasich) from review of its finances
by the state auditor.”
It found similar issues in privatized development agencies
in Wisconsin, Arizona, Indiana, Florida, Rhode Island and Michigan. In
some cases, the scandals have cost states millions of dollars with
little job creation to show for it, according to the report.
The latest report concurred many of the findings in a
similar 2011 report from Good Jobs First, which sought to warn states,
including Ohio, about the potential risks of privatized development
agencies.
For JobsOhio, a major cause for concern in the report is
how difficult it is to hold the agency accountable. State legislators
have approved multiple measures that shield JobsOhio from public
scrutiny, including exemptions that exclude the agency from public
records laws, open meeting rules and the possibility of a full public
audit.
Some of the controversy also focuses on how the state funds JobsOhio.
“The proposal called for ‘leasing’ the state liquor
profits ($228 million the year prior) for up to 25 years to JobsOhio,
which would eventually issue $1.4 billion in bonds to pay for the use of
the funds,” according to the report. “Critics charged that this was not
a fair market price for profits that could potentially amount to $6
billion over the term of the agreement.”
The report laments that the privatized and secretive
agency represents a shift for Ohio, which the report claims “was an
early practitioner of online subsidy disclosure.”
Good Jobs First concludes privatized development agencies
perpetuate an economic environment in which big companies already have
too much say.
“The privatization structures we describe here, including
the increasing use of corporate seats for sale on governing or advisory
boards, absolutely favor large businesses that have the money and
executive staff time to pay and play at such levels,” the report
concluded. “But small businesses already get short shrift in economic
development resource allocation, and they are still suffering the most
in the Great Recession’s aftermath.”
The organization also takes issue with the idea that
public agencies aren’t “nimble”: “In all of our years tracking
development deals, we have yet to hear of a state agency that lost an
important deal because it failed to provide labor market or real estate
or incentive data in a timely manner.”
Asked about the report, Kasich spokesperson Rob Nichols
responded in an email, “We don't pay much attention to
politically-motivated opponents whose mission is to combat job
creation.”
Kasich and other Republicans claim JobsOhio’s privatized,
secretive nature is necessary to secure job-creating development deals
with private companies in an economic environment that, through the
Internet and globalization, moves more quickly than ever before.
Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Ed
FitzGerald, claim the agency is ripe for abuse, difficult to hold
accountable and unclear in its results.
State Auditor Dave Yost plans to release an audit of
JobsOhio soon, but no specific date or time frame is set for the
release. The audit was granted prior to state legislation that barred
the state auditor from doing a full sweep of JobsOhio’s financial
details.The full report:

A seven-member legislative board yesterday accepted federal funding
made available through Obamacare to expand Ohio’s Medicaid program to
cover more low-income Ohioans for the next two years. Gov. John Kasich
went through the Controlling Board, an obscure panel that typically
handles less contentious budget issues, to get the federally funded
Medicaid expansion after months of failing to convince his fellow
Republicans to back the policy in the Ohio House and Senate. Most
Republican state representatives, including local Reps. Lou Terhar,
Louis Blessing and Peter Stautberg, signed a letter in protest of the tactic, and some groups are already discussing lawsuits. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio previously found
the expansion would insure between 300,000 and 400,000 Ohioans through
fiscal year 2015. If legislators approve the expansion beyond that, the
institute says it would generate $1.8 billion for Ohio and insure nearly
half a million Ohioans over the next decade.
John Arthur, the Cincinnati man who helped lead a legal battle for same-sex marriage in Ohio, died today at the age of 48.
Arthur was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2011, and
the fatal neurodegenerative disease pushed Arthur and his partner Jim
Obergefell to hasten their battle for LGBT equality and recognition in the eyes of the law. After the couple married in
Maryland, they sued the state to recognize their marriage on Arthur’s
death certificate — a request granted in July by U.S. District Court
Judge Timothy Black, less than one month after the U.S. Supreme Court
struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which previously barred
same-sex marriages at the federal level.The 18-month legal battle over the 2010 juvenile court election between Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter and the Hamilton County Board of Elections will cost the county more than $920,000.
Hunter, a Democrat, ultimately won the lawsuit and recount. Her 2010
opponent, Republican John Williams, eventually got another seat in the
juvenile court through an appointment and subsequent election.
Teen drivers remain one of Ohio’s most at-risk groups for traffic accidents, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP).
Between 2010 and 2012, teen drivers were at fault for nearly 101,000
accidents resulting in more than 44,000 injuries and 299 deaths. In
total, teens were responsible for roughly 10 percent of fatal crashes.
To address the issue, OSHP is advising teen drivers and their parents on
safety basics, such as following the speed limit and wearing a
seatbelt, and promising to encourage better behavior through
enforcement.
Speaking to investors on Friday, Caesar’s Entertainment, the operator of Cincinnati’s Horseshoe Casino, disclosed the details of a federal money-laundering investigation
and said it previously withdrew a request for a gaming license in
Massachusetts after investigators there questioned past business
practices. Ohio officials reportedly told WCPO they’re reviewing the
investigations.
In September, Cincinnati year-over-year home sales increased for the 27th consecutive month.
Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery removed a SpongeBob SquarePants headstone for an Iraq War veteran because officials deemed it inappropriate.
The Cincinnati Reds will replace former manager Dusty Baker with pitching coach Bryan Price, reports The Cincinnati Enquirer.
A new study found no known species matches the expected profile of a shared ancestor for humans and Neanderthals.Early voting for the 2013 City Council and mayoral elections is now underway. Find your voting location here. Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended.
On Oct. 29, local residents will be able to give feedback
to Cincinnati officials about the city budget — and also nab some free
pizza. The open budgeting event is from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 29
at 1115 Bates Ave., Cincinnati.Follow CityBeat on Twitter:• Main: @CityBeatCincy• News: @CityBeat_News• Music: @CityBeatMusic• German Lopez: @germanrlopez

A seven-member legislative board on Monday accepted
federal funding to expand Ohio’s Medicaid program to cover more
low-income Ohioans for the next two years.
Republican Gov. John Kasich originally attempted to get
the Medicaid expansion through the General Assembly, but he ultimately
bypassed the legislature after months of unsuccessfully
wrangling with members of his own political party to embrace the
expansion.
Kasich instead opted to go through the Controlling Board,
an obscure panel that typically handles less contentious budget issues
that keep with legislative intent.
Most Republican state representatives, including local Reps. Lou Terhar, Louis Blessing and Peter Stautberg, signed a letter
in protest of the tactic. The letter invokes legal arguments against
the governor’s decision and could be the basis for a lawsuit in the
future.
“Our protest is not about the merits or lack of merit in
expanding Medicaid,” the letter states. “Our protest goes to the
fundamental form of government upon which our country was founded — a
Republic of checks and balances and separation of powers.”
Republican legislators say they’re concerned about the
government’s involvement in the health care system and whether the
federal government can afford to pay for the Medicaid expansion. They
argue it would be better to pursue Medicaid reforms instead of expanding
the program.
On the other side, Democrats, in a rare alliance with a
Republican governor, applauded Kasich for embracing a cornerstone of
President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
Under Obamacare, the federal government asked states to
expand their Medicaid programs to cover anyone at or below 138 percent
of the federal poverty level, or individuals with an annual income of
$15,856.20 or less. If states accept, the federal government pays for
the full expansion through fiscal year 2016, and then gradually phases down its
payments to an indefinite 90 percent of the expansion’s costs.
In comparison, the Kaiser Family Foundation found the federal government paid for nearly 64 percent of Ohio’s Medicaid program in fiscal year 2013.
The expansion is necessary to fill a so-called “coverage
gap” under Obamacare and Ohio law. Without the expansion, parents with
incomes between 90 percent and 100 percent of the federal poverty level
and childless adults with incomes below 100 percent of the federal
poverty level don’t qualify for either Obamacare’s tax credits or
Medicaid.
The Health Policy Institute of Ohio previously found
the expansion would insure between 300,000 and 400,000 Ohioans through
fiscal year 2015. If legislators approve the expansion beyond that, the
institute says it would generate $1.8 billion for Ohio and insure nearly
half a million Ohioans over the next decade.
The federally funded expansion is set to begin in 2014. It will cost the federal government nearly $2.6 billion, according to the Ohio Department of Medicaid.

Early voting for the 2013 City Council and mayoral elections is now underway. Find your voting location here. Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended.
On Oct. 29, local residents will be able to give feedback
to Cincinnati officials about the city budget — and also nab some free
pizza. The open budgeting event is from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 29
at 1115 Bates Ave., Cincinnati.
The Greater Cincinnati Port Authority on Saturday approved bond sales and contract agreements
for the controversial parking plan. The approval is the final major
step necessary for the Port Authority and its private partners to take
over Cincinnati’s parking meters, lots and garages after the city leased
the assets to the nonprofit development agency earlier in the year. The
deal is supposed to raise $85 million in upfront funds and at least $3
million in annual payments for the city, which the city administration previously planned to use for development projects and operating budget gaps. But opponents of the deal say the city is giving up far too
much control over its parking assets, which they argue could cause
parking rates to skyrocket as private operators attempt to maximize
profits.
Ohio’s Controlling Board, a seven-member legislative panel, is expected to decide
today whether it will use federal funds to expand the state’s Medicaid
program to more low-income Ohioans. Gov. John Kasich opted to bypass the
legislature and put the decision to the Controlling Board after months
of failing to convince his fellow Republicans in the Ohio House and
Senate to take up the expansion. But critics of the expansion have
threatened to sue the Kasich administration if it bypasses the
legislature. Under Obamacare, the federal government will pay for the
full expansion for the two years being considered; if Ohio ends up
accepting the expansion beyond that, the federal government will pay for
the entire expansion through 2016 then phase down its payments to an
indefinite 90 percent of the expansion’s cost. The Health Policy
Institute of Ohio previously found the expansion would generate $1.8 billion for the state and insure nearly half a million Ohioans over the next decade.
Hamilton County commissioners could consider today whether to use excess tourist tax revenues
on more funding for tourism-related infrastructure projects. The tourist tax was previously
used to help build the Cincinnati and Sharonville convention centers and fund the Convention and Visitors Bureau, but the county administrator intends to lay out more options in his meeting with commissioners.
In the mayoral race between Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and ex-Councilman John Cranley, black voters could make the big decision.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Friday warned about so-called sweetheart scams
in which a con artist develops a relationship with a victim, typically
through the Internet, before asking for money. The Attorney General’s
Consumer Protection Section has received about 70 complaints involving
the scams since October 2011, resulting in an average loss of more than
$14,000 with the highest reported loss coming in at $210,000, according
to the attorney general.
Ohio’s school chief ordered two Columbus charter schools to shut down for health and safety reasons and inadequate staffing.
Findlay Market is tapping into crowdsourcing to decide three new storefronts.
Ohio gas prices increased for the second week in a row.
A thermal wristband promises to keep the user’s body at the perfect temperature.
Follow CityBeat on Twitter:• Main: @CityBeatCincy• News: @CityBeat_News• Music: @CityBeatMusic• German Lopez: @germanrlopez

Governor signed new anti-abortion restrictions into law with state budget in June

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) could order the Lebanon Road
Surgery Center, a Cincinnati-area abortion clinic, to shut down after a
hearing examiner upheld ODH’s decision to revoke the clinic’s license because the clinic failed to establish a transfer agreement with a nearby hospital.
Abortion rights advocates touted the closure as
another example of how new regulations in the recently passed state
budget will limit access to legal abortions across the state. But ODH
handed down its original decision for the Cincinnati-area abortion
clinic in November 2012, more than half a year before Gov. John Kasich
in June signed the state budget and its anti-abortion restrictions into
law.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio decried
“the closure of an abortion provider in the Cincinnati area despite an
exemplary record of medical safety.”
“Just as we feared when Gov. Kasich enacted medically
unnecessary regulations on abortion providers, officials at the Ohio
Department of Health have launched a regulatory witch hunt against
Ohio’s abortion providers and have recommended the closure of an
abortion clinic in Cincinnati,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director
of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, in a statement.
Ohio Right to Life, which opposes abortion rights, celebrated the decision.
“We are gratified to see yet another late-term abortionist
shutting down,” said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life,
in a statement. “As a result of this Health Department order, Martin
Haskell, a strong proponent and former practitioner of the controversial
and deadly partial-birth abortion procedure, will no longer be able to
abort children and jeopardize women’s health in Hamilton County.”
Ohio law classifies abortion clinics as
ambulatory surgical facilities and requires they establish transfer agreements with
nearby hospitals, where clinics can send patients for more comprehensive care
in case of an emergency. The 2014-2015 state budget also barred
abortion clinics from establishing transfer agreements with public
hospitals, which abortion-rights advocates say greatly hinders the clinics because private hospitals are generally religious and oppose abortion rights.
The Cincinnati-area clinic is just one of five Ohio
clinics in the past year to either close down or face the threat of
closing down, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Without the five, Ohio would be reduced to just nine abortion clinics.
On Oct. 9, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio announced a lawsuit
against Ohio’s newest anti-abortion restrictions. The ACLU claims the
regulations went beyond the budget’s purpose of appropriating funds and
therefore violated the Ohio Constitution’s “single subject” rule, which
requires each individual law keep to a single subject to avoid
complexity and hidden language.
The hearing examiner’s decision: